Newbie with an M plate "Update possibly for sale"

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lateestate
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Newbie with an M plate "Update possibly for sale"

Post by lateestate »

Hello all,

Im paul from birmingham, i am a motor trader for a living but i am a life long old/classic car fan and currently have quite a few projects at different stages of restoration, in my job i mainly deal with newer cars but as i have a keen interest in older/odd/rare stuff the garages i deal with always bear me in mind when something pops up.
Thats enough about me now let me tell you of my latest find, i went to a citroen dealership to veiw some part exchanges yesterday and while i was there the managers said " oh theres an old BX out in the yard that you might want to look at"
Im not really into citroens although i drive a berlingo van as a daily and think its great. I cant remember the last time i saw a BX on the road so i grabbed the keys and went for a look, to my surprise the car is on an M plate (cant remember seeing one that late) its a 94 M BX 17 TZD estate car in white with 3 owners and reading 136k miles, its very dirty and seems to have not been washed in a very long time, it has a citroen towbar and although filthy and tatty lokking it appears to be very original having had only the two offside doors painted and the paint is crazed/peeling on these panels. I started the car up and it sounds really good, i drove it and the only faults i noticed are the stop lights on the dash are on, its a bit bouncy/vague on the nearside suspension and on investigation i noticed an occasional hiss and a leak/squirting of LHM fluid coming from the front of the engine bay down by the bellhousing and rad, looks like its some kind of valve, could this be the cause of the suspension bounce ? i must admit i had forgot how nippy these are for an old diesel.
Overall it looks quite tatty at the moment but as its white i should think a good clean and some wheeltrims woud really tidy it up. As it was not very expensive i thought i cant go wrong and had to buy it, i dont know quite what i will do with it yet and an old friend of mine thats into old quirky cars has shown an interest so i will of course give him first refusual but i thought i would join the forum to find out a bit more about these cars and to see if it was rare/worth anything being such a late car and therfore justify doing it up or if neither i or my friend decide to get involved with it this place would be the best place to find it a new custodian that would give it the treatment it deserves rather than just being scrapped as i hate seeing rare old cars just dissapear, i mean its only a 94 car but i was quite surprised to see it and it made me realise i had nearly forgot these cars ever existed which is bizzare as years ago they were everywhere.

Any info or advice on this car would be much appreciated and hopefully help me put the car to good use, if anyone knows the actual car it would be nice to hear from them, the reg is M575PNM

Update, I managed to go and wash it this morning and take some pics

Before
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After
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The bad paint
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The leak
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I also checked the LHM fluid and as piointed out on here it was low, i put some in and the stop light has now gone out so it must be due to the leak.


Regards
Paul.
Last edited by lateestate on Sun Nov 14, 2010 7:06 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Philip Chidlow
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Post by Philip Chidlow »

Welcome, we look forward to seeing the pics and the fruits of your labour. Are you aware there's the Citroen Car Club National Rally at Gaydon (not far from Brum) weekend of 17/18th July?
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Post by Defender110 »

Welcome Paul and thank you for bringing this to us and yes I am sure you will find a new custodian of this car on here if you or your friend decide not to take it on.
At 136,000 the engine and gearbox are probably just about run in but unfortunately it sounds like the suspension is need of a once over, The stop light being on is probably because the LHM fluid is low due to the leak. The suspension bounce is probably the spheres that will need re-charging or replacing a requirement every couple of years or so on these cars. The good news is all the parts are still available and at reasonable cost and these cars are also surprisingly simple & easy to work on with all the information you require being here on this forum.
I look forward to seeing the pictures, try and take one of exactly where the you think the leak is coming from and I am sure a solution to your problem will be given.
Last edited by Defender110 on Sun Jun 27, 2010 10:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by CaM »

if the leak's squirting it's probably the rubber hose that returns the pump 'leak off' (when it's not puming the system up) back to the tank?
there's a rubber "tee" junction about here.

nice car! I'd love a turbo diesel wagon.
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Tim Leech
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Post by Tim Leech »

Thats FAR too good to scrap, if you were to tidy it up and sell it on I could see you with a nice profit there, that paint would polish up well using the right stuff, and maybe touch up the doors and bumper, the colour is citroen alpine white.
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lateestate
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Post by lateestate »

*Update*

Hello all,

I had this car mot`d a month ago although as it was already mot`d till august the mot was postdated(it passed with only handbrake adjustment needed) fixed the leaking release/return rubber hose pipe thingy leak with another bit of pipe and let a friend have it, he loves it but unfortunately its causing him greif with his wife as she thinks its an eysore so it may possibly be for sale, i will know for definate within the next day or so if he can get it a pardon or not, i told my friend i will find a good home for it on here if it has to go so if anyone is interested all the info is on this thread, the only difference is it now has a full mot, it drives very well but is a little bouncy so may want a sphere or two regassing/replacing or just get used of it as its not that bad, so let me know if anyone potentialy wants it otherwise i think it will end up on ebay.

I will update as soon as i can confirm that it has to go.

Cheers all
Paul.
Last edited by lateestate on Sun Nov 14, 2010 7:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

Could be really interested, is it still in Birmingham?
lateestate
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Post by lateestate »

yes still in birmingham.
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Estate with ABS - someone grab it, please!
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Tim Leech
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Post by Tim Leech »

Ken if you need a hand with the uplift let me know.
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

lateestate wrote:yes still in birmingham.
Ok, please keep me updated if it becomes available. :)
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electrokid
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Post by electrokid »

I could be interested as well - I'll form an orderly queue behind Ken :-)
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lateestate
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Post by lateestate »

Hello all, Im sorry for my delay in getting back to everyone as my friend has been away on holiday and forgot to tell me, anyway he has today confirmed that the car will be coming back to me as its causing to much greif with his wife, she cant stand the thing and is on at him about it as he already has a couple of classics and she doesnt get the old car thing.

I will have the car back with me next week so anyone thats interested in int just pm me for my number to arrange a veiwing.

Regards
Paul.
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

PM sent, well it will be in a mo :)
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Tim Leech
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Post by Tim Leech »

Go Ken!
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